Located on the northern tip of the Massif des Bauges, at 1440 meters of altitude, the “Fort de la Batterie” was erected on the top of a cliff, above Albertville’s valley. It traduces the military strategy of General Raymond Séré de Rivières, who built several forts through the country after the defeat against Prussians in 1870.
The structure consists of a crenelated enclosure pierced with embrasures for mountain cannons. In the courtyard, an L-shaped building, crenelated on all sides, is organized to house 1 officer, 60 men and 25 artillerymen.
The fort, in 1998
The fort has never undergone any battle, so it has gradually been forgotten. In 1998, the structure was so ruined that it became dangerous for backpackers, and the mayor thought about the entire destruction of the structure. At this moment, the “Pour que vive le Fort de la Batterie” association was created, to save the building.
Since 1998, volunteers, helped by the city council and nearby companies, have been renovating the fort. Thanks to several tens of thousands of volunteer hours, the fort is now welcoming numerous visitors. Regularly, the association organizes events, to raise money to continue the works, and to make the fort known to people.
Now we want to finish the restoration, to share the heritage of this patrimony.
Our main project: arrange the building to make a mountain refuge, which would be always accessible to backpackers, inhabitants of the area, or any person who wants to discover this heritage.
Our secondary project: bring up the dining room located upstairs to the standards to accommodate groups. At present, only the association’s members can access this space.
Our ideal project: equip all the first floor’s openings with real windows. Indeed, at the moment we have wooden frames with cellophane panes…
The money collected will be used to set up the mountain refuge, made of a picnic room and a dormitory which can welcome 14 people on the ground floor of the building.
With 9000€ we could isolate the picnic room, add a water point and a wood heating, and bring up to the standards the openings and the dormitory.
With 19 000€ we could, in addition, bring the dining room up to the standards, by installing windows and add an exit issue.
La salle du 1er étage, à mettre aux normes pour l'ouvrir au public
With 27000€ we could finally install real windows on all of the first floor, which could allow us to welcome people in winter too.
The “Pour que vive le Fort de la Batterie” association is composed of a group of about 15 volunteers, renewed over the years. After 20 years, we still share the same values: conviviality, friendship, sharing, mutual help, solidarity, work and motivation. A new generation of volunteers continues renovating the fort, and organizing events to promote the heritage of this place
It’s possible to support our project and to participate:
- By an online donation on Dartagnans.com
-By sending a check to the following address:
Dartagnans
Projet du Fort de la Batterie
1 rue de Châteaudun
75009 Paris
Alongside the teams of volunteers, many companies and artisans have contributed to the renovation of this site. Without them, the work would have been longer, more complicated. Their generosity allowed the association to make use of materials and services, essentials for the progress of the work.
Travaux de Cornillon
https://www.facebook.com/FortdelaBatterie/
06 62 32 01 86
